Springfield casino plan draws 450 to hear Ameristar Casinos preview

View full sizeThe Republican | Don TreegerAmeristar Casinos Inc. CEO Gordon R. Kanofsky speaks to an overflow crowd that attended an East Springfield Neighborhood Council meeting Tuesday night at Mary Mother of Hope Church to hear Ameristar's presentation on its proposal to build a casino and hotel at the former Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard.

SPRINGFIELD – More than 450 people turned out Tuesday night to hear a preview of Ameristar Casinos Inc.’s plan to build a casino and hotel at the site of the old Westinghouse plant on Page Boulevard.

Ameristar officials told a standing-room-only crowd in the Mary Mother of Hope Church gymnasium that their $500 million project will bring 2,800 permanent jobs and another 2,000 construction jobs to the area.

The project will be designed to blend with the neighborhood’s character, and will not be a glitzy, Las Vegas-style extravaganza, said Gordon R. Kanofsky, chief executive officer of Ameristar.

“We don’t build one size fits all, one style fits all casinos,” said Kanofsky, adding the company has very different style casinos in Colorado, Missouri and Iowa.

Gordon Kanofsky

Kanofsky said the company will work with neighbors and city officials to reduce concerns about traffic, noise and crime, but said it was too early to offer specifics about the casino and hotel complex.

“Everyone asks what is (the project) going to look like,” said Kanofsky. “And the answer is: We don’t know yet.”

Regarding traffic, Kanofsky said casinos and hotels generally try to avoid traffic congestion as a business matter. “Your concerns are our concerns,” he added.

During the question and answer period, the crowd response was mixed, with one woman, Laurel Rancitelli, offering to sell her home on the spot.

“Does anyone want to buy my home? I live right next door” to the proposed site, Rancitelli said. “This is not a rhetorical question.”

Another speaker, Andrew Hersman, said he feared that the casinos would bring more than employment and entertainment.

“My sense of casinos is that they radiate crime, prostitution and drugs,” said Hersman, a veterinarian with an office on Page Boulevard.

View full sizeThe Republican | Mark M. MurrayDemolition crews work on taking down the last remaining building at the former Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard in Springfield, where Ameristar Casinos of Las Vegas wants to build a casino and hotel.

“We already have that here,” somebody yelled from the crowd.

Other questions dealt with the hours of operation, the hiring process for contractors and employees, and the potential effect of a wood-burning biomass plant also proposed for East Springfield.

Kanofsky said he was unaware of the plant, but said his staff would review the matter.

Ameristar last month announced plans to buy the land on Page Boulevard for $16 million, with the intent to apply for the casino license for Western Massachusetts and, if awarded, build a luxury hotel and entertainment resort with retail space.

Any granting of a license is a long way off. Casino gambling became legal only last month in Massachusetts when the governor signed a bill passed by both houses. Members of the Gaming Commission, which will issue licenses for a casino in Western Massachusetts and two other sites in the state, have yet to be named.

The session was sponsored by the East Springfield Neighborhood Council, whose president, Gilbert Perron, stressed that it was the first of many public information sessions. City Councilor Michael Fenton, who represents the neighborhood, also assured residents that process was just beginning.

“This is your first chance to ask questions, not your last chance,” Fenton said.

City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke said he was pleased with the turnout and the exchange of information.

“I though the size of crowd was tremendous; we’ll certainly have many more questions in the future,” he added.